


Adventures In Teenage Flirting

by MDF007



Category: IT - Stephen King
Genre: Eddie Kaspbrak Loves Richie Tozier, Established Eddie Kaspbrak/Richie Tozier, F/M, Flashbacks, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Gay Disaster Richie Tozier, M/M, Richie Tozier Flirts, Richie Tozier Loves Eddie Kaspbrak, Richie Tozier is a Mess, everyone is happy, except stan is still dead sorry stan, he's alive in the flashback though
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-23
Updated: 2019-12-23
Packaged: 2021-02-26 01:07:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,146
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21924910
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MDF007/pseuds/MDF007
Summary: “Oh wait, I remember this.” Ben interrupted their bickering. “Richie had decided he was going to try to start doing ‘physical comedy’, or something.”“That’s right.” Bev nodded, “He was showing us all at the clubhouse. He was pretending to fall and run into signs and stuff like that. And then when Eddie showed up, to try to make him laugh he—” she couldn't manage to finish her sentence for the giggle that escaped her.“He full on smashed his head into the wall and fell down like a log.” Bill finished with a howl of laughterORRichie is an idiot to get Eddie's attention
Relationships: Ben Hanscom/Beverly Marsh, Eddie Kaspbrak/Richie Tozier
Comments: 5
Kudos: 161





	Adventures In Teenage Flirting

**Author's Note:**

> I got this idea watching an Eric Andre interview when he described doing something similar to impress a girl when he was younger and got major Reddie vibes so here we are

Several drinks in, the Losers were all red-cheeked as they laughed together over old times and continued to freely pass around food and drink.

They were currently wiping away tears and quieting hiccups after reliving one of Ben’s failed childhood attempts to win over Bev. Ben was looking mildly embarrassed, but not too bothered by the story. And why should he be, when the object of his affections all those years ago was currently wearing the engagement ring he had given her, the very reason they were all currently gathered to celebrate.

“Man, Ben, you were a terrible flirt back then.” Richie chuckled, unwinding his arms from where it had been wrapped around Eddie’s shoulder to sloppily do another shot. Eddie wrinkled his nose in disgust as the liquid sloshed down Richie’s chin, then automatically reached forward with his napkin to wipe away what had been spilt.

Bill was raising his eyebrow at Richie incredulously and laughing.

“Are you kidding, Richie? You’re one to talk about bad childhood flirting.” He was looking pointedly between Eddie and Richie.

“That’s right, you were a _terrible_ flirt back in the day.” Bev was smiling as she too remembered Richie’s pathetic attempts at ‘flirting’—if you could even call it that.

“No I wasn’t!” Richie argued, “I was charming and suave and totally subtle!”

Eddie snorted loudly, turning to look at his boyfriend. “You were _not_ charming and suave, Rich.”

“What do you mean? It worked on you didn’t it?” Richie stuck his tongue out at Eddie childishly.

“Yeah and it only took you, how many years?” Eddie looked down at his wrist as he mimed checking a watch jokingly.

“Fuck off. I got you in the end, didn’t I?”

“Yes, you did. The very, _very_ end.” Eddie smirked and leaned forward to meet Richie’s expectant lips.

The rest of the group booed them and threw napkins teasingly at the affectionate couple as they kissed. Richie laughed as he pulled back and Eddie feigned annoyance.

“And, I’m sorry, but did you say _subtle_ , Richie?” Ben was smirking at Richie. The rest of them (Richie excluded) joined in with raucous laughter.

“I was subtle!”

“Sorry dude, but you were _not_ subtle.” Mike chimed in, smiling amusedly.

“Yeah, in fact, do you remember that particularly bad week when Richie kept banging his head into things to try to get Eddie’s attention?” Bev suddenly remembered, her whole face lighting up at the memory.

Eddie looked over at Richie, his whole mouth hanging open in surprise. “That was to get my attention? You fucking idiot, you could have gotten hurt! You did get hurt!”

“Well what was I supposed to do?” Richie held his hands up in defeat.

“Um, I don’t know, tell me you liked me like a normal fucking person?” Eddie suggested sarcastically.

“Oh wait, I remember this.” Ben interrupted their bickering. “Richie had decided he was going to try to start doing ‘physical comedy’, or something.”

“That’s right.” Bev nodded, “He was showing us all at the clubhouse. He was pretending to fall and run into signs and stuff like that. And then when Eddie showed up, to try to make him laugh he—” she couldn't manage to finish her sentence for the giggle that escaped her.

“He full on smashed his head into the wall and fell down like a log.” Bill finished with a howl of laughter.

Everyone but Eddie was laughing now. He was trying and failing to hide a smile as he shook his head disapprovingly at thirteen-year-old Richie’s behavior.

“And then Eddie freaked out and started being all ‘Eddie’, trying to patch him up and stuff.” Mike continued the memory.

“I resent the phrase ‘being all Eddie’, by the way.” Eddie interjected.

“Eds, stop being all Eddie and let them finish the story.” Richie reached over and pinched Eddie’s cheek. Eddie shoved him away furiously.

“Right, so Eddie’s making this big deal about how Richie could’ve hurt himself and going all out trying to patch him up and make sure he didn’t have a concussion and stuff.” Ben picked up.

“And Richie loves the attention so much he keeps this shit up for like a week.” Bill laughed. “I’m surprised you didn’t actually give yourself brain damage hitting your head so much, dude.”

“Pretty sure he did.” Bev smirked, to which everyone hummed their agreement.

“Hey, fuck you guys.” Richie pointed at all of them, though it was clear his words held no real malice.

Bev was laughing harder than ever now, her hands over her face as she tried to speak through her giggling. “Do you guys remember why he finally stopped?”

Everyone looked thoughtful for a second, and then Richie said, “Oh shit, that’s right.” And suddenly he was joining her in laughter. One by one, the others seemed to remember as they too were soon wiping tears away. Only Mike remained out of the loop.

“Wait, what happened? Why did you stop?” He asked Richie. Richie put his head on the table and slowly shook his head.

“Oh god.” He said. “Not my finest moment. But I suppose I’ll tell you anyway.”

-*-

The week had started off fairly normal. After watching some old videos of stand-ups doing physical comedy, Richie had decided to take a break from practicing voices to give it a try. He had announced this to Ben, Bev, Stan, Mike, and Bill one Saturday morning in the clubhouse, before demonstrating his first attempts at the craft.

All of it had been fake, of course, and he wasn’t very good at it. He would kick the wall and pretend to bounce his head off as his foot connected to make it seem like he really ran into the wall with his face. His timing, however, was all off, and it never did look quite real. To his disappointment, he had yet to garner a laugh from his half-paying attention crowd.

Only Ben was kind enough to give Richie his full attention, smiling encouragingly and telling him “You’re getting better already, Richie!” which Richie knew to be a lie, but made his heart swell with affection for his friend.

Richie shrugged noncommittally. Maybe he would just give up the idea; it was a lot harder than he had expected.

“Is this even going to be funny when you actually can do it?” Stand deadpanned, not looking up from his bird-watching book.

“Oh, you wound me Stan! You really do!” Richie clutched his heart dramatically as he pretended to be hurt by Stan’s empty words.

“Hey guys.”

Richie’s heart beat sped up just a little as he heard Eddie descend the steps into the tree house and make a beeline for the hammock. With hardly another word and definitely not sparing an extra glance for Richie, Eddie had picked up his comic and settled in.

Well that just wouldn’t do.

Richie felt himself practically buzzing with the need to get Eddie’s attention. It had been like that for awhile now, and Richie had only just come to the horrifying realization as to why that was. Now however, the only the thought going through his head was a high-pitched drone of ‘ _look at me look at me look at me’_.

He hardly spared a second thought as he shouted out, “Hey Eds, check this out!”

Eddie’s head snapped up, his eyebrow cocked, and without thinking, Richie turned and banged his head straight into the wall.

His vision went black for about half a second and then he was seeing stars as he fell to the ground ungracefully with a soft _thud_. Vaguely, he heard Eddie yelp in the background.

Richie groaned and sat up slowly, pressing a hand to his throbbing head. If he was in less pain, he probably would have felt a lot more embarrassed about voluntarily giving himself a concussion in front of his crush.

Richie peeped one eye open to see the rest of the Losers staring at him, open mouthed and in shock.

“I’m ok.” He croaked, giving them a crooked smile to ensure them that he was not, in fact, dying.

“You were right.” Stan broke the tense silence. “That _was_ funny.”

And just like that, they were all laughing. Bill and Bev were howling with laughter. Mike and Ben looked a little guilty but couldn’t seem to help themselves and joined in with a few poorly concealed giggles. Even Richie was smiling at them all, clearly not minding that everyone was laughing at his expense.

Well, almost everyone.

Something Richie had not foresaw, when he smashed his face into the wall, was Eddie leaping up and running to him, his face angry and concerned. Before his somewhat dizzy vision could even focus in on what was happening, he was being smothered by hurricane Eddie.

“You fucking idiot, are you trying to kill yourself?! You probably have a concussion, you know! Or at least, like, a million bruises! You’re going to have fucking brain damage you moron!”

Eddie was speaking a million words a minute. Before Richie could process what was being said, the smaller boy was kneeling on the floor next to Richie. Kneeling right down with no hesitation on the floor that he always refused to get anywhere near because it was certainly host to millions of parasites, to worry over Richie like he had just been shot and was bleeding out in front of him.

And then, Eddie’s hands were carding through his hair, checking for bumps. And his little fingers were fluttering over Richie’s bare arms, skittering over his pulse points and checking for bruises and even though he was angry Richie could see the concern clear in his face, because his face was oh so close and all Richie could think was

_so close so close close closer closer closer._

Richie’s breath hitched in his throat as he stared at Eddie’s face right next to his own. The others began to feel as if they were intruding on a private moment and were about to excuse themselves when Eddie grabbed Richie by the hand, pulling him up and telling him that he was taking him back home so he could get some rest for his ‘devastating head injury’.

And when they were away from the eyes of their friends and safely back at Richie’s house, Eddie was different. He was stilly annoyed at Richie, but he was…softer, in his concern.

And, alright, sue him if Richie liked the attention. He was in love with his best friend whom he was sure could never love him back in one of the most homophobic towns in the country. He felt like he deserved to enjoy Eddie fussing over him and touching him like this.

And, god dammit, he wanted more.

So, for the next week, when Richie would see Eddie coming, he decided it was the perfect time for him to ‘practice’ his physical comedy. And every time, Eddie was furious at Richie’s recklessness, but surprisingly didn’t seem to tire of taking care of Richie’s injuries afterword. No, he didn’t complain about checking Richie for bruises each time, with lingering touches that Richie was too nervous to realize lasted just a little bit longer each time.

He did, however, complain incessantly about Richie being an idiot and a klutz.

It was now Friday, and Richie was standing with Bev, Bill, and Ben by Eddie’s locker, waiting to make their escape for the weekend. They were chatting excitedly about weekend plans when Eddie rounded the corner with Alice York.

What the _fuck_ was she talking to him about?

As they got closer, Richie heard snippets of their conversation. She was complaining about something school related and he was nodding sympathetically and what the _fuck_ Eddie was supposed to worry about _him_ not _Alice York_.

Richie felt jealousy twisting up inside his stomach as he watched them get closer and the high-pitched whine of ‘pay attention to me’ was coming back stronger than ever. He wanted Eddie to forget all about that girl and pay attention to him—forget about Alice’s homework and frantically check him for bruises.

He wanted Eddie’s face close to his again.

So naturally, as soon as they got close enough, Richie shouted “Eddie! Eddie watch this!”

He turned around and looked for the closest thing he could let rip on—which happened to be the emergency fire-extinguisher.

Inside the break-away glass case.

And of course, he thought about none of this as he slammed his head against it, and

_wham, bam, smash._

The sound of glass shattering filled the halls. He heard the sound of what he could only presume was Alice quickly backing away. He took a step back and felt blood trickling from his forehead. In both of his palms, there were shards of glass sticking out as his hands tingled and bled.

Well shit, he thought. That didn’t go according to plan.

He turned slowly to see Ben, Bev, Bill, and Eddie staring at him with their mouths open. Eddie’s face was blanched white as he looked at Richie. The rest of the passersby in the hallway were growing quiet as they noticed Richie bleeding in the middle of the hall, glass sticking out of him and scattered on the floor.

“Oops.” Richie chuckled weakly, shrugging at his friends.

Eddie’s face turned from white to red, and his lip twitched once before he wordlessly grabbed Richie by the wrist and dragged him off towards the nurse.

The nurse had stared at Richie flabbergasted when they had walked in. Eddie had immediately told her that Richie had tripped and smashed into the glass by mistake and then stayed there to hover over her as she removed the glass from Richie’s hands and dressed his wounds. Eddie chimed in often, much to the nurse’s chagrin, with how she could better take care of the injuries.

By the time Richie was patched up, she was clearly done with them both, between Eddie’s nagging and Richie’s pathetic attempts at joking about the situation. She asked Richie to call his parents so they could come pick him up. Richie grew quiet at this and Eddie immediately understood that his parents weren’t at home right now.

“His parents are both at work. I’ll make sure he gets home alright.” Eddie jumped in to save him. The nurse was so annoyed at this point that she didn’t question Richie taken home by another thirteen-year-old boy after smashing face first into glass. Instead she bade them good riddance and went into her office to take an Aspirin as Eddie grabbed Richie again and dragged him out.

They began to walk towards Richie’s house in silence. Several times, Richie tried to make a joke to lighten the atmosphere, but Eddie was clearly not in the mood to joke around. When they got to Richie’s house, Eddie pulled Richie upstairs to his room without a question, as if it was his own house they were walking into and not Richie’s. As predicted, the house was empty aside from the two boys.

Richie sat down on his bed and watched as Eddie stood their stiffly, his arms crossed like he was a parent about to scold their naughty child.

“Am I in trouble?” Richie finally asked sarcastically when Eddie refused to speak.

“God, Rich, how can anyone be so smart yet so _fucking_ stupid?”

“Aw, you think I’m smart, Eds?” Richie cooed, feeling himself relax as Eddie eased back into normal banter. The silence had been worrying him more than he had even realized.

“Not when you smash your head against glass cases for seemingly no reason.”

“All in the name of comedy, Eddie Spaghetti.” Richie responded easily, his heartbeat quickening slightly as Eddie sat down next to him on the bed.

“It wasn’t funny. And don’t call me that.” Eddie replied stiffly, refusing to meet Richie’s eyes.

“Alright, that wasn’t very funny.” Richie admitted sheepishly. “But to be fair, I didn’t think about the fact that it was glass.”

“Like I said. Idiot.” Eddie huffed under his breath. Richie snorted and Eddie had to tilt his head away further to conceal his own smile at Richie’s laughter. When he turned back to Richie, though, his eyes were worried.

“Seriously though, Rich, you’ve got to stop doing this—this ‘physical comedy’ stuff or whatever it is. I’m starting to get really worried. You’re going to hurt yourself bad one day.”

Richie chewed his lip uncomfortably at Eddie’s genuine worry. It made the butterfly feeling in his stomach grow even harder to ignore.

“Ok, ok, fine.” he agreed at length. “But only because I love you oh so much, Eddie my love.”

He said it in a mocking tone to conceal the fact that it was true.

Eddie turned his head again to hide a deep blush that had come over his face at Richie’s words. If Richie had seen it, perhaps he would have been brave enough to kiss Eddie in this moment.

As it was, Eddie turned back to Richie with a completely normal expression covering the way his own heart had fluttered at Richie saying he loved him—whether it was a joke or not.

“Shut up.” Eddie said instead, “And let me redress your wounds. That nurse did a terrible job.”

-*-

They were all laughing when Richie finished his story.

“God, I still can’t believe the reason you smashed your head into that fucking case was because you thought I liked _Alice York_. I literally hated that girl—I was just waiting for her to shut up so I could run away and talk to you.” Eddie smiled at Richie, reaching out to cup his face lovingly as he remembered their days of childish pining.

“We were both idiots back then. I’m just glad one of us grew a pair and made a move the second time around.” Richie responded, turning his head to kiss the hand Eddie had been resting against his cheek.

“ _I’m_ just glad that story made my flirting seem not so bad.” Ben spoke up. “At least I didn’t get glass shards in my face trying to impress Bev back when I was a kid.”

“Bet you feel pretty foolish about that now, huh Rich?” Bill smirked at Richie teasingly.

“Pssh.” Richie chuckled and shook his head. “Keep up, Big Bill. I would get glass shards in my face trying to impress Eds any day of the week, even now.”

“Don’t you fucking dare—” Eddie began to say, even though he was beaming at Richie.

Richie cut him off, however, with a passionate kiss that was definitely not fit for public. And they continued kissing through their laughter as the others booed them and threw their napkins again.

And fuck, if Richie could have known life could be this good at thirteen, he would’ve smashed his face into a million glass cases.


End file.
